Kyrgyzstan plans to begin construction of a National Artificial Intelligence Center in 2026. According to 24.kg, this was announced by First Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Innovative Technologies Nursultan Kubanov in an interview with Birinchi Radio.

According to him, the launch of the center is seen as one of the key elements of the digital agenda: the project is expected to help create conditions for Kyrgyz IT specialists to return from abroad, increase the interest of international technology companies in the country’s market and become a platform for training new talent. These points are given in the 24.kg publication with reference to a statement by a ministry representative.

An important detail that Kubanov specifically highlighted: the “national center” should be understood not as just a separate building, but as a full-fledged ecosystem — a laboratory and technology hub that should bring together the IT sector, research and development, and become a base for large-scale projects in the field of artificial intelligence.

The same publication says the project is being implemented on the basis of an investment agreement and work is planned to begin this year. At the same time, the creation of Kyrgyzstan’s first international IT college was also announced; it is seen as part of training specialists for the digital industry - for both the public sector and private business.

This news comes against the backdrop of the broader line of Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development to strengthen the AI agenda in 2026. According to 24.kg, at a board meeting summarizing 2025, the ministry stated that this year it will focus on scaling artificial intelligence technologies in the public sector, developing data-driven governance, modernizing the architecture of digital platforms, re-engineering services and strengthening cybersecurity.

The same statement also gives indicators of digital infrastructure and services for 2025. In particular, the Tunduk interagency electronic interaction system provides 191 services, of which 141 are fully automated, and the number of transactions over the year reached 2.4 billion. New digital services in the app, electronic documents, a self-ban mechanism on lending and national cyber exercises involving 300 specialists are also mentioned.

Separately, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development publishes aggregated indicators of the digital ecosystem on its website: among them - 1.6 million cloud digital signatures issued, 2 million downloads of the Tunduk mobile app and 1.5 million users of the unified identification system. These data do not directly describe the AI center project, but they show that the discussion of AI is taking place against the backdrop of already functioning digital infrastructure and large-scale government digital services.

Thus, the story of the National AI Center in Kyrgyzstan looks not like a separate “showcase” initiative, but as part of a broader attempt to bring several elements together into one system: infrastructure, talent, research and the introduction of technology in public administration. The final parameters of the project, timelines and format of implementation will likely be clarified as construction begins and the terms of the investment agreement are disclosed.